France to England, England to France

2011 has been a year of many changes in my life. I'm pretty sure the year started with teary goodbyes as I had to move back to France for the second half of my year abroad. I loved living in France and in all honesty, being a teaching assistant really wasn't that bad, but with ridiculously expensive phone calls, having to trek to McDonald's every time I wanted to use the internet or Skype and getting a headache with every other conversation, home sickness crept in all too easily. It was sad to say goodbye to the girls I had lived with for over 7 months and to think that it would be an absolute age before we were ever able to meet up again, (if at all, they were from america, El Salvador and Germany), but I have never felt happier than I did when I returned home for good and knew that I would not need my passport every time I wanted to see my family, friends or Rob. 

After returning home, I had five and a half months to kill before going back to uni. I took some time off to allow myself to be at complete liberty to relax and catch up with friends and family. It also meant finally being able to see Rob's band YAAKS in action. What he's achieved this year deserves a post of its own, so go give them a listen and a like! I turned 21 at the beginning of June and luckily most of the people I love were home in time to celebrate. I started celebrations early with a family meal the day before my birthday which was amazing. I can't remember the last time we went out as a family, even though it was a shame that one brother was still missing from the celebrations. 

On my actual birthday, we hired  a limo to pull up in Brighton where I was serenaded with a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' lead by the live band and accompanied by the entire population of the Pav Tav. We then went on to Lola Lo's to dance the night away. I don't think I have ever had so much fun on a night out and the occasion was most definitely marked! 

I managed to get a summer job as an Activity Leader for EF language school which was incredibly fun, spending the days lounging on the beach, playing Just Dance on the wii and shopping and sight seeing trips to London and Brighton alike. I adore living by the coast and having the South Downs on my door step, so having a job over the summer which allowed me to be outdoors most of the time was amazing and I had a fabulous bunch of people to work alongside with. 

After Summer and a five and a half month wait, I returned to Canterbury to start my fourth and final year as an undergraduate at the University of Kent. I had been worrying for my entire year abroad about who I would be living with and what it would be like to live in Canterbury once again, considering that the majority of people I had classed as my core group of friends had graduated and would no longer be around. However, I could not have asked for a friendlier group of house mates and it didn't take long to settle in. University is the best thing that I have ever done, it has allowed me to grow up so much. I would never have been able to cope with living abroad three or so years ago and the thought of meeting and talking to new people terrified me, resulting in me going retreating quietly and shyly with awkward conversations, whereas now I feel confident talking to people I've never met before and the idea of meeting new people and making new friends excites me, and this semester has been so enjoyable because of that. 

I am so looking forward to 2012, to graduating next summer and hopefully taking up a journalism course in Brighton (if my interview and exams in January go well). I'm excited to start writing more, on the ol' blog, for my uni paper and hopefully getting more work experience with local papers or magazines. So if you are reading this, I hope you have all had a very Merry Christmas and have a wonderful New Year. 

Melita x

Happy Faces Allowed

Christmas is over and it couldn't have been better. I awoke on Christmas morning at a silly early hour to gasps and cries from my eight year old brother as he saw the mince pies, carrots and milk gone and a gigantic present (top photo) in our kitchen taking their place! (It was the only room left in our house, the tree was full to the brim, as you can see). It is so lovely having a littl'un in the house for the festive period as we still manage to keep some of that childhood excitement and it means we all still get presents from Santa! Mother did an amazing job with Christmas dinner as she always does and everybody received some spectacular presents, my youngest brother Joey enjoying a BMX and a brand new scooter amongst his many other treats. 

I was spoilt myself with perfume, clothes and a beautiful kindle. For all those who claim, 'I don't want a kindle, I prefer real books,' I was right there with you until Santa left one under my tree. I love a good ol' fashioned book, second hand is always better, but my kindle is just so swish! It's perfect for slipping into the smallest of bags, lightweight and doesn't hurt your eyes as the screen isn't brightly lit. The range of books on Amazon's kindle store is incredible too, with an excellent selection of free downloads, over a million books to buy overall and the capacituy to store up to 1400 books, kindle holders have a huge variety of novels to read. I'm currently getting stuck into Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar and cannot wait to indulge into the many other worlds of fiction that other authors have to offer.

Boxing day was spent with Rob and his family and was yet another beautiful day. After my second delicious Christmas Dinner we turned to a rather competitive game of Pictionary for which I was paired with Rob which, I hated because he is a dirty rotten CHEAT! Cheating is the worst, I would rather lose honestly than win dishonestly, but Rob can't stand it so do not play games with him. Board games continued with Monopoly for which I must admit I did not bring my A-game and ended up bankrupting myself just in time for home time. I never wanted to be rich anyway... (I joke). 

I hope everyone who reads this had an equally wonderful Christmas time; by the blog updates it seems that you all certainly did. Now to organise New Years Eve, what plans do you all have? 

A Canterbury Christmas

So last night was host to 89's pre-Christmas celebrations, a joyous celebration filled with stuffing, roast pork and crackling, pigs in blankets, a little Bucks Fizz and yes, you've guessed it, a didgeridoo! We had all been speculating about what the enormous present that Ruth so sneakily crept into the house was and with baited breath we erupted into fits of laughter as Emma unwrapped her beloved didgeridoo! I cannot help but laugh out loud every time I hear a sort of mooing noise coming through my wall, an AMAZING present! Other gifts included a David Attenborough book, tea/coffee flask, mini finger football game and, wait for it...my megaphone! Trololololol! I have never laughed so hard, I don't know what possessed my house mate to buy me a megaphone or why he thought I needed to turn up the volume on my pretty voluminous voice anyway, but it certainly put a smile on mine and everyone else's faces to say the least, so thank you very much James! 

We then enjoyed an incredibly delicious Christmas roast dinner prepared mainly by food and ego lover alike, Mr. Gareth Shute complete with Christmas crackers, paper hats and your typical bad jokes. We rounded off the celebrations with a glass of bucks fizz (classy, I know), and a hot headed game of Articulate. Fabulous.

After worrying throughout my year abroad about what my house mates would be like in my final year I could not have asked for a better bunch of lovely people. Last night's fun has just made me all the more excited to get my final two exams out of the way tomorrow and prepare to go home for even more festive fun! 

Sunday #2

1. So, as promised I shall shamefully share some snaps (how about that for some alliteration!) from Friday night  where my house mates and I aged about 50 years or so. As you can see from the top photo, one birthday boy took the theme a tad too far and broke his collar bone a couple of days before the big event! Injuries aside, it was an incredibly fun night and everyone's costumes looked fabulous! The boys took to their dresses and skirts like ducks to water, happily swishing and swaying at any given opportunity. After a hilarious game of articulate and a few beverages we headed up to to the club and most certainly painted the town red. For some of us, the excitement was all too much and sadly the night called for an early end. I for one, may or may not have fallen asleep in a cosy corner of the club... (Apologies for the spotty top photo, dirty camera lens tut tut). 

2. It is officially 2 weeks today until Christmas and I have done zero Christmas shopping, uh oh. We are having a house Christmas dinner on Tuesday and exchanging our Secret Santa gifts so that is top of my list of things to do tomorrow, post exam of course (wish me luck). I pretty much know what I want to get people I just haven't had the time spare to look for them so it's not worrying me too much. People seem to gasp in horror when I tell them I haven't yet started, but 2 weeks is plenty of time people! I always manage it and my gifts are always fabulous, OTT is my middle name. 

3. Speaking of exams, there are just 3 of them plus an extra seminar that stand between me and the Christmas holidays and I canny bloomin' wait! I will be over the moon to be able to go home and see some familiar faces and spend more than just a snatched afternoon with some pretty amazing folks. 

VIP OAPS

Just a brief post today. It's been hectic. The day started with my amazing house mates, including one with a broken collar bone, helping me to bump start my car. It died on me a few days ago but with a great heave ho we managed to get it up and running again, so thank you very, very much to them. Have a drink on me boys! Once up and running I ventured to town to try and find my Secret Santa a present, semi-successfully. I was inspired by quite a few things but need to look over the weekend to make sure it's within budget! The most exciting part of the day is still to come though! The other part of my trip involved a lot of charity shops in order to find the perfect Grandpa outfit for tonight's OAP themed birthday bash. It has been far too long since I have had a night out and there's nothing like a good ol' fancy dress theme to add a touch of class. We seem to have done a gender reversal though with the guys going as grannies and the girls going as gramps. Might do a photo post on tonight just for the lols. 

In other news, I am one more deadline down, three to go! I have started sending applications off for journalism courses once I graduate and have an interview early next year already in the pipeline! Everything crossed. I also received an email informing me that the interview I did with Motel Rocks for being October's Ambassador of the month is now up on line, so if you want to have a read you my do so here! And, if you haven't read enough of my waffle, you can read the latest article I wrote for my uni paper here. Any thoughts? 

Right, better go get my grandpa glad rags on. Pass the talc...

I Covet Thee, Christmas

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It feels like an absolute age since I did an I Covet Thee post. I haven't really had the time or been overly inspired to create one recently, but with Christmas approaching it is time to start thinking of answers for that oh-so-awkward question, 'What do you want?' After losing the bottom of one of my boots last week and having to resort to limping on several pins sticking out of the heel for the rest of the day, a new pair is definitely top of my list! I've had my eye on these tan ankle boots for months now (I'm surprised they're still in stock). I usually get a few pieces of clothing and anything knitted/sheer/pleated is fine with me à la Topshop cardigan and Yayer dress above! Other little bits I'd like are socks (I love novelty socks, I canny get enough of them), Liz Earle samples (I've heard very good things and really need to improve my skincare) and some second hand books. I like books that have been worn in a bit and I'm one of those anti-kindle people! I like browsing book stores and charity shops for new reads and that would most likely come to an end with a kindle. The ol' fashioned page turners are how novels should be read! 

My news feeds at the moment seem to be inundated with a mixture of people who have started, nearly finished or already finished their Christmas shopping. I, for one, have only just begun to think about what to buy people. I have the odd idea floating around but need to get proactive! Secret Santa exchanges are happening in my house next Tuesday so I really need to get a move on!

On another note, Amalea from Luscious asked me to do a short survey for her this week for her blog. There are some other bloggers featured too so head on over and have a read and a follow! 

Sunday #1

1. I am finding it increasingly difficult to find the time to keep this blog running, so I am taking inspiration from some other blogs that I read and starting a new Sunday feature to sum up my week. That way I can edit and add to it as I go and if nothing else should get blogged, at least Sunday will! 

2. The turning from November to December means that even for the most Scrooge like among us there is no reason to not get excited about Christmas. This amazing advent calendar (pictured above) arrived in the post a few days before December. My mum never fails to get us an advent calendar and for the past few years she has got us personalised ones! (Probably to stop the bickering between us siblings, Annalisa, I'm looking at you). Not the best photo above, but the only one I have I'm afraid. The coca-cola advert is once again up and running and everywhere I look lights and tinsel are in full swing! My uni house is no exception, our 3ft synthetic tree, complete with lights, baubles, tinsel and a star, is something to envy. As are our copious amounts of paper chains! More tackiness please and thank you. 

3. It was also my house mate Matt's birthday this week, which I got just a little excited about. I'm a sucker for birthdays! To celebrate we went for our first outing as a whole house (only took 10 weeks!) Then after some amazing food and a glass of wine at the Brewery Tavern in Canterbury, we headed home where birthday celebrations turned into Christmas cheer and Elf was watched with caterpillar cake dessert. 

4. To end the week I went home to visit Rob and my family for the first time in what felt like an absolute age. I spent Friday and Saturday at Rob's then today we went to see my family and had the most amazing roast; my mum is THE best cook in the world, incredible woman. Topped off with not just any melt in the middle chocolate cake pudding and ice cream, but M&S melt in the middle chocolate cake pudding and ice cream. All too soon though I had to leave to catch my train back to Canterbury and sadly missed out on helping put up the Christmas decorations, so I am all the more excited to go home in two weeks and join in the family festivities! 

5. I am however looking forward to another house birthday this week and their joint OAP themed birthday shindig on Friday night! So prepare yourselves for some (if not too embarrassing) granny photos this time next week!

6. And last but by no means least I owe a huge thank you to the lovely Lauryn from Bracelets and Bangles who awarded me the Versatile Blogger award! She has a lovely blog and is currently doing the 100 day challenge which consists of her taking a photo of her outfits for 100 days! It's quite the challenge and she has posted some lovely photos so be sure to pay her a visit! 

Little Dreams

Image taken from We Heart It

So the blog and I have made it into triple figures, hoorah! I now have 100 very friendly, (and I'm guessing somewhat bored) GFC followers on my back. It's always so lovely to read your comments and it still baffles me when I see new people have clicked the follow button and taken the time to read and comment on sometimes more than one post. I don't want to seem like I'm gushing too much, but a genuinely big thank you to you. It is especially surprising seeing as for one thing, I have not been writing this blog for very long at all and secondly I've had to allow blogging to take a back seat recently as third year takes priority over life! 

But I have a few more posts lined up for the next week and a half which I'm looking forward to putting together; I have finally received my Motel dress that I chose way back when so hopefully the sun will shine for just a little while and I can do the dress some justice photo wise. And then it is just a few short weeks until the Christmas holidays and then the big event itself, and I am so looking forward to a 4 week break at home with my wonderful friends and family, and hopefully the chance to make up for lost blogging time. I'm also on Bloglovin' so come and follow me here! 

Oh, and come say hi here!

Who You Are

A completely different genre of music to post about for this week's What I'm Listening To. Having just watched X-Factor like millions of others across the UK enjoying their Sunday night guilty pleasure, who should take to the stage but my not-so-favourite artist, Jessie J. A bit too poppy for my liking, I have never really considered myself part of the Jessie J fan club. Compare her to the previous music posts I have shared with you on my blog and the difference is obvious, and I fear that I am becoming a little too closed ear and snobby for my own liking. There will be many a friend reading this post, my boyfriend included, thinking 'what the hell are you doing posting Jessie J on your blog?' And this is what I will reply:

I don't think I will ever be able to call myself a Jessie J fan but I have a lot of admiration for this woman. She is one of few who can be classified as a 'genuine artist,' and that's rare these days especially in the mainstream world of music. Does she write her own songs? Yes. Does she sing live? Yes. Can she actually sing (and in tune)? Er, JUST A BIT. Jessie J has got some of the best pipes going; that girl can hit notes and makes it look so easy. No, I do not think her songs are amazing, but she hits her target audience well so it is no surprise that people love her. And vocally, she is incredible, there are no two ways about it. There is no need to question how she got to where she is and she thoroughly deserves it; even the most arrogant of music fans must eat their humble pie at some point.  I have listened to her latest single Who You Are several times tonight purely to admire her vocal ability. Credit where credit is due, right?

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Autumnal Palettes

Just a quickie before some seriously hardcore essay writing commences once again! Reading and researching has taken up most of the past few days and shall continue a while longer I'm afraid to say. Better blogging to come soon, promise. I decided to get myself up and motivated for the day yesterday by going for a run at 8.30 in the morning. Every second hurt. It still hurts. And I'm still tired. Supposedly going for another swift jog with my house mate tonight, we shall see. CANTERBURY, Y U HAVE SO MANY HILLS? 

On another note, I hope you've noticed the new blog design! For a while now I have really not been a fan of how my blog looked, plus I had seen about 10 other blogs this week alone with the exact same header design as mine. (That's what you get for using a freeby I guess!) It was all just a bit girly and naf and not very me if I'm honest. So after whining, begging, pleading and some not very helpful descriptions of what I wanted instead, I managed to get Rob to design me a new header. And to then alter it. And to then alter it again. Until I decided that I actually really loved the first one that he'd made me! A top notch job ol' chap. So a few colour adjustments, a new background design later et voila! I personally think it looks so much better now that it's not so pretty and prim and proper. It's still not 100% finished but it's a darn lot closer to how I want it to look. Really need to get him to teach me all the ins and outs of html, I'm such a technophobe it's just silly. The main issue I'm still having is that I can't make the background picture fit the whole blog, it only lets me tile it. Anybody know how to rectify this? You will get a very big thank you if you do! Maybe I'll bake you a cake. 

Thoughts on the new layout? 

All's Fair In Love And War

An impromptu phone call from the boy a short while ago and a tip off to this gem of a video below lead to uncontrollable fits of laughter from both ends of the receiver. There's a whole series of extreme pranks between two friends ranging from pretend public break ups to one friend believing he had won $500,000 in front of a whole stadium full of basketball fans who were all in on the act! The one below however, is my favourite clip that I have watched so far in which Streeter is convinced mid-skydive that the chord to his parachute is broken and the emergency parachute isn't going to hold. Can you even imagine the fear he must have felt?! The instructor, Duncan, is amazing though, 'How much do you weigh? Can you swim? Kick your legs, kick your legs!' Enough explanations, you need to watch it now!  (P.S. Do not trust skydiving instructors called Duncan). 

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Pranking and YouTube aside, life is busy in little old Canterbury. Rob came to visit again and we went to the cinema for the first time in ages to watch the latest Twilight movie (don't judge me). After complaints from him all day long and whinging whispers in my ear throughout the first half an hour or so of the film his moaning soon turned to inquisitive questions about the plot and characters  as he got sucked in to its brilliance like all good fools do! I do genuinely think it is a really good film, far better than the first two and praise from Rob, considering his previous avid hate of Twilight, is testament to what a step up the latest instalment is. If only Stephanie Meyer had written the books as well as Bill Condon directs them on screen...

But fun and games are now over as yet more deadlines hang over my head with an essay, presentation and two ICA's all due before the end of term. So it's back to scouring the library for books and typing away at my desk, only to be made temporarily easier by the recent news that my house is partaking in the joyous event that is Dominos Two for Tuesday. Not all bad I guess!

Given To The Wild

Long awaited new material from The Maccabees.
Very, very worth it.
Orlando, marry me?


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I Love London

After a week of frantic essay writing, this weekend could not have come soon enough and was well worth the wait. On Saturday, Rob and I ventured to London with excited hopes of hanging with the celebs in all their wax work glories in Madame Tussauds. Alas, our dreams were soon quashed by a sign at the end of the queue reading '2 hour wait from here.' So with dismayed hearts, we headed to Eat. And boy did we. Then with fully fed yet dismayed hearts we hopped back on the tube and allowed our feet to lead us to Harrods. Welcomed by the beautiful lights decorating the exterior and the glorious smells of the perfume counters, (which I shall one day own), we were like children in a toy shop. I reckon we could have quite easily made a whole day trip out of Harrods, I can't recall the last time I 'oohed' and 'ahhed' so much. And this was only increased by escalators leading me to the Harry Potter section and then to the Christmas World.  One day, I will be rich enough to afford a box of 6 crackers for £600 and all of my Christmas guests shall go home with sterling silver zircon earrings and Swarovski crystal USB flash drives.  

But we didn't allow ourselves to enjoy the day away inside a department store, so a few more tube stops later, a barely there queue and we were aboard the London Eye. Now, Rob has a terrible fear of heights but some mind lapse lead to him forgetting this until things were in full swing and we were rising to some 135m (443ft) in the air. (Google is so very, very clever). So sitting on the bench with sweat beads dripping from his brow, our romantic trip was somewhat different to how I had imagined it to be. London looks beautiful at night though and I only wish I had remembered to bring my camera so that the photos could do its views some justice. But my 5MP Blackberry camera will just have to suffice for this post I'm afraid. 

We then found the most amazing Chinese Restaurant, Canton, after stumbling into China Town and once we were full enough to roll ourselves back to Charing Cross, we did. The rest of the weekend was spent in what turned out to be a very sunny Canterbury. But yet again, no camera bad blogger. It has been so nice to have a weekend not worrying about deadlines and reading. The next 4 weeks leading up to the end of term are set to be jam packed with deadlines and tests but I'm a bit more ready for them than I was this time last week so I'm hoping to be able to blog more frequently nonetheless.

In other news, the Motel Dress that I chose arrived but was just a tad too small so once a replacement has been sent I will share it with y'all. Also need to start getting some Christmas related posts in the pipeline. Has anyone else seen the Coca-Cola advert yet? I caught it today and jumped in excitement. And it's only mid-November!

Bring Me A Higher Love

Okay, so I have a deadline in about 50 hours and 10 minutes and promised myself I would save all things blogger until then. But for ages I have been hearing snippets of this song on the Love Film adverts but keep forgetting to find out who it's by. I just heard it again this evening and at long last my wonderings have been answered. It is an absolutely beautiful cover of Steve Winwood's song Higher Love by James Vincent Mcmorrow. I'm totally in love, it brings a lump to my throat every time I listen to it. There's a certain James Blake type aura to this song and his voice. But for now, grab a tissue, have a listen and fall in love a little bit.

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Fashion Fundamentals

I know it's not really considered great blogging etiquette to do two posts in one day BUT, I am just too happy and excited to leave it until tomorrow. On returning home from uni this evening I had a lovely email from Selena who works at Motel Rocks informing me that I had won Ambassador of the month for the article I wrote about Motel for my university newspaper! As a result there is going to be a little something about me on the Motel Blog and I get to choose an item from the currently beautiful collection on their website! Definitely something to blog about. What a bloody brilliant day!

No Sleep Tonight

So at 3 months old (yesterday) my blog has at long last reached the 50 follower mark! So hello readers and ta to you all very much for jumping on my little bandwagon! Uni work is ridiculously busy right now with French novels to read, a philosophy essay to write and pancake recipes to translate! I am going to go and hibernate in the library for the next week or so and as tempting as it is, all things blog will have to be put on hold, sigh. I do however need to find some firework displays in Canterbury to watch tomorrow...

But to cheer you up if it is a rainy day where you are and getting out of bed is proving to be just that little bit more of a challenge, watch the clip below to put an instant smile on your face! Happy bonfire nights and have a lovely week!

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Kissing In The Blue Dark

This song has really grown on me over the last couple of weeks. At first listen I wasn't too keen on the song but I did fall in love with Lana Del Rey's voice a little. She performed on Jools Holland last week and again I wasn't blown away but, after a few more listens to the recorded version of 'Video Games' I'm really coming around to it. A beautiful lady with a beautiful voice and an equally beautiful name. Have a few listens to the song below and let it grow on you too. 

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Blue Water

Possibly the best wrapping paper ever?!

I'm like a child who prefers the box to the present inside, but it's just SO beautiful!

     

A few snaps from the 26th October when Rob turned 22, or in other words, the day he realised he is halfway to 44! I honestly don't know who was more excited about the presents, me or him, but it cannot be denied that that is some pretty awesome wrapping paper. His main present was a burgundy Ralph Lauren shirt (unfortunately a tad too big- skinny witch- so an extra small is to be ordered). But when it arrives I will show it to you in all it's glory. For now, let us admire the beautiful packaging shall we? 

Rob wanted a new wardrobe for his birthday so we spent the day in Bluewater shopping centre. It was also my first time on the motorway and mid-drive the heavens opened and it was torrential downpour hell. There was so much spray coming off tyres it created a thick fog and it was unbelievably busy; I basically thought I might die on the M25. But we finally made it to Bluewater and had a good nose around the shops. I'm quite lucky that Rob likes shopping and is usually quite happy to browse the girl's sections too. Unfortunately, my bank card does not currently share this joy and so it was pure window shopping on my behalf.

It was a chance to discover though that there are some horrendous coats on sale at the moment (see above). Fit, no? Definitely no. When I lack money I seem to take pleasure from finding and trying on the most hideous items I can. The bin bag 3/4 length puffa jacket above, for example. I dragged Rob into this too and tada! The photographic evidence speaks for itself. I hope you're laughing as much as we were. 

We ended the trip with a visit to the new Cadbury's Cocoa House with the most delicious hot chocolate and home made chocolate fudge cake. The savoury food ordered by the table behind us looked a dream as well so a re-visit for lunch is a must on our next visit. For now, I am looking forward to what I am sure will be a beautiful wedding tomorrow! Fingers and toes and all other crossable limbs crossed for decent October weather. 

Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

If you haven't heard the pleasure that is M83 yet then you really must. Their latest album 'Hurry Up We're Dreaming,' (even the name is beautiful) was shown to me by Rob this week and I am not ashamed to say that it has been on repeat pretty much ever since. My ears are having the jolliest of times to it; incredibly satisfied. I implore you to take a listen, this is quite possibly my favourite what I'm listening to post to date. 

Also, I've had another article for my uni newspaper up and published on line this week after some technicalities which you can have a read of here.

Raconte-Moi Une Histoire

Me: Dress: H&M Cardigan: Camieu  Shoes: New Look Rob: Hoody: American Apparel T-Shirt: Diamond Supply Co. Jeans: Topman Shoes: Vans Sunglasses: Ray-Ban

It may be getting chillier outside as October draws to a close but the sun is still doing its up most to keep the days looking radiant. So this weekend Rob and I (I've been told off for my referral to him on here as 'the boy') to Herne bay in Kent. I have lived in Canterbury for over two years and yet this is my first trip to the seaside which, being a born and bread seaside town girl makes me a little ashamed of myself if I'm honest. It was such a beautiful day as you can see from my 19282748487 photos above filled with pots of tea, walks along the sand and lots of happy snapping. On a less positive note, it also ended in me slipping off a seaweed covered groin right onto that bit where bum meets leg; oh good LORD the pain! You know the kind of pain when you hit your coccyx bone on something and there are no words or sounds to express your pain just open mouthed, wobbly stumblings? It was that kind of pain. But injuries aside it was lovely, followed today by a lunch date in café Boho, Canterbury, which has also taken me over two years to sample. If you ever find yourself in Canterbury's neck of the woods I would definitely recommend eating here, it's so intimate and qwerky and the food is delicious.

In other news I am about to burst with excitement at the pile of presents wrapped on my desk for THE BOY'S birthday. Wrapped in sweet covered wrapping paper they look a treat! I cannot wait to go home tomorrow and see my family and spend some time in little Eastbourne. Lots to celebrate this week as you'll know from my previous post and I canny bloomin' wait!

Oh, and we went with my house mates to a quiz in one of the uni bars on Sunday night and were elated to hear that we had won! Only to find out two minutes later that due to bad maths and maybe one too many pints, we had actually come second. Still, not bad for our first attempt and two bottles of prize wine later we are content! QUIZ-TEAM AGUILERA FTW!